“Cooper is a friendly boy who loves P.E.”…   Ah, it is report card time again!  I love the positive comments that his teachers make on his strengths.  He waits his turn.  Likes school.  Is eager to communicate.  Has a great visual memory.  He is eating lunch in the classroom instead of out in the hallway, as he did last year.  Less crying.  Likes people. Such good stuff to celebrate.

The challenges remain… Becomes tired easily.  Trouble with auditory comprehension.  Bothered by commotion.  Difficulty making choices.  Can be moody and dramatic.  (chuckle-chuckle) Trouble answering questions.  Difficulty with speech sounds.

The overall analysis?  Cooper is “Approaching Expectations“.  The expectations are out there in the distance…we see them and we are making our way towards them.  Basically, it is a nice way to say that “Cooper isn’t hopeless, he is trying – he just isn’t there yet.  “

I think it would be good practice if every so often the members of the body of Christ each made their own report card, to see how they do against the text from 1 Corinthians 13, verses 4-7.  It reads, “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Loving in God’s way is the complete flip around of how the world teaches us to love.  Loving God’s way is not our natural inclination.  Yet, because I want to make decisions that glorify Him, loving others the way He wants me to is crucial.

Am I “Exceeding”  “Meeting”  “Approaching” – or – “Not Even Close” to the expectation?  Without a continual open communication line between God and I, I would be trapped at “Not Even Close”.  I find that the more time I spend talking to Him and about Him – the easier it is to keep my connection.  Then, I am able to hear His voice in the moments when I need the patience; or need to not be jealous; or need forgiveness; when I need the LOVE.

What is your love grade?  If you seek to love God’s way and are further from the expectation than you’d like to be, there are intentional spiritual disciplines you can do to build your spiritual muscles.  Without going into teaching on them right now, some of these include: prayer, fasting, solitude, worship, confession.  Do you have one that you regularly practice?

My little “friendly boy who loves P.E.” works hard along his journey of approaching the expectations of school life.  Keep up the hard work of love, friend.  It is not easy, but the end result will be glorious.

~Peace.